Stop motion mechanism for knitting machines



April 25, 1932. A, E BYR 1,855,335

STOP MOTION MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES ATTORNEY April 26,1932. A. E. BYRD 1,855,335 O STOP IIOTION MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 7, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet u 2 i l d, 1

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f ATTORNEY April 26, 1932. A, E, BYRD y 1,855,335

STOP MOTION MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHNES Filed Jan. 7, 1929 4 sheets-sheet s l i A l l Hu Winni l Y x 77 V n' 764.

y /6// INvEN'roR /z 6 zo Mg u .5' 44 Il 7 ,adm/s 's ATTORN'M April 26, 1932. A. Ej. m5 1,855,335

STOP MOTION MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Jan. '7, 1929 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented pr. 26, 1.932

UNITED stares ATENT oFFIcE .ARTHUR E. BYRD, MILW'AKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO PHOENIX HOSIERY COMPANY, OF MILVAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN STOP MOTION vIECI-IANISM FOR KNI'ITING MACHINES Application filed January 7, 1929. Serial No. 330,829.

This invention relatesto an automatic reset `for stop motions utilized with knitting machines or the like.

Various type-s of stop motions have been heretoforedevised for stopping a knitting machine or the like in the event of a thread breaking or knotting in its passage from the bobbins to the needles or in the eventot' other undesirable conditions existing'in the machine. -Examples of such stop motions are shown and described 1n the patents to Crawford, Nos. 1,212,912 of January 16,

1917, 1,354,379 of September 28, 1920, andY tive and as a result the machine is liable to be and frequently is injured or damaged and its operation is impaired.

An object of the present invention is to provide for the resettingof the stop motion of a knitting machine or the like automatically whenever the machine isI started up or thrown into operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resetting mechanism of this character which may be embodied in a simple, compact and unitary structure, which is adapted to be manufactured and installed upon a knitting machine and organized with the stop motion thereof with a minimum oi labor and expense, and which is reliable and effective in operation. v y

As indicated above, the present invention is utilized en knitting machines having the usual stop motion. Such a stop motion controls a sensitive latching mechanism functioning when released to trip a tripping mechanism associated .therewith and controiling the action of a second latching mechanism which, when released, permits the throwout of the drive of the machine and the application of the brake usually provided for stopping the machine immediately, when `.the drive is disconnected. The drive may be a belt drive in which event the second latching mechanism acts when released to permitV operation of a belt shifter. Frequently, however, the drive is in a form oit' an electric Vmotor and clutch controlled gearing so that the second latching mechanism with such a drive operates to permit the throw out of the clutch. The clutch is biased to disengaged position while the brake is biased to engaged position and when the machine is running the seco-nd latching mechanism operates to secure the clutch engaged. and the brake disengaged. The nature of all constructions of this type heretofore proposed has been such that when the clutch is thrown in and the brake disengaged and these parts are latched in such position it is further necessary for.V

the operator to reach intolthe machine and manipulate a hand lever :tor the purpose of setting the trippingmechanism controlled by the iirst latching mechanism, that is the latching mechanism which is directly operated upon by the'stop motion. And in al1 of these prior constructions, the parts are so constructed and are so coordinated in their movements that the mere act of throwing in the ciutch and releasing the brake and latching these parts in position will not reset the tripping mechanism. i

The present invention slightly reorganizes the tripping mechanism or means and organizes with the clutch and with the tripping means a resetting device which operates to automatically reset 'the trip and the first latching mechanism whenever the clutch is thrown into engaged position.

@ther objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction, arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a. part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation illustrating the automatic reset embodying the present invention applied to a circular knitting machine having a conventional type of stop motion;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary View inside elevation showing how the automatic reset is .organized withthe latching mechanism of the stop motion, parts being broken away and shownin sectionforthe sake of illustration Figure 3 is a cross sectional view on a line 3-3 of Figure 2;

.Figure 4is a fragmentary view in horizontal cross section taken in th-eplane of line 4-4 of Figure 1, parts being omitted and parts being brokenaway and shown in section for the sake of illustration;

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are cross sectional views all taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2, but showing the resetting means in various positions; j

.Figure 8 is adetail View in side elevation ofthe clutch and brake mechanism and the operating and tripping `'mechanism therefor, parts being shown in central, vertical, longitudinal section for the sake of illustration;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view in perspective illustrating the operating and tripping mechanism employed for the clutch and brake of the drive;

.Figure 10 is a detail view in section taken on line 104.10 of Figure 8 and showing the brake and its operating means;

Figure 11 is a detail view in elevation showing the operating lever for the brake and associated parts; and

.Figures 12 and 13 are detail plan views showing the latching and releasing positions of the latching mechanism of the stopmotion.

While, as pointed out above, the present invention resides in the organization, with the usual stop motion, of an automatic reset, it is believed that an understanding of this invention, requires a review of the general structure and operation of the stop motion, the latching mechanism controlled thereby, and the tripping means which is regulated in its action by the latching mechanism and which acts on the clutch and brake or other means governing thedrive of the machine.

[As shown in Figure 1 of thedrawings, reference numeral 1 indicates thev frame of a conventional knitting machine which is provided with a knitting head 2 of the ordinary type. The knitting head isdriven by an electric ,motor 3 throughtheusual gear train which, as shown in Figure 8, includes a convof conventional construction and as shown in Figure 8 has alternate disks splined to or otherwise constrained to rotate with an annular hub flange 4 integral with the gear 4 and a collar 5 fixed to the shaft 5, respectively. For the purpose of forcing the disks into frictional engagement and thereby clutching the gear 4 tothe shaft 5, a slide collar 10 is loosely fitted on the shaft 5 and through a plate 11 also loosely mounted on the shaft 5 controls the compression of springs 12 interposed between the plate 11 and the disks of the clutch. Springs 13 are also provided between the collar 5 of the shaft 5 and the plate 11 and tend to move the plate away from the disks of the clutch 6 thereby relieving the springs 12 of compression and the disks of the clutch of frictional engagement when the slide collar 10 is in clutch releasing position. To shift the slide collar 10 along the shaft 5 and thereby engage or disengage the clutch 6 depending upon the direction in which the collar 10 is moved, a hand lever 14 (see Figures8 and 9) is provided and is fixed to the upper end of a vertical shaft 15 journaled in a bearing 16 for-med on bracket 17 secured to and supported upon a stationary part of the machine. The lower end of the shaft 15 projects below its bearing 16 and is fixed to a yoke 18 which straddles the slide collar and is connected by links 19 to trunnions 10 of the slide collar 10.

llVhen the clutch 6 is disengaged, the machine is instantly stopped by means of a brake provided for the purpose and which as shown in Figures 8 and 10, may. comprise a brake drum 20 fixed to the shaft 5 and an internal brake member 21 cooperable with said drum. The brake member 21 is in the formof a split band having the usual friction facing and is l biased to expand andengage its drum although it is manually contracted and latched in inoperative position in certain phases of the operation as willhereinafter appear. In

carrying out this purpose a conventional brake operating mechanism is employed and as shown in Figures 8, 10 and 11 comprises brake levers 22 and 23 pivoted together as at 22 and cooperable with the ends of the brake band. adjacent its upper end on a supporting pin 24 carried by the bracket 17 and projecting into the brake drum. An adjusting screw 25 extends transversely between the lowerarms of the levers 22 and 23 and passes loosely The lever 23 is pivotally supported through openings formed therein Springs 26 are mounted on the screw 25 and engage abutments on the screw, at least one of which Yis adjustable, and also engage the levers 22 and 23 so as to bias the levers to expand the brake band into braking engagement with the drum, a stop pin 27 carried by the web of the drum engages the lever 23 to limit its movement in one direction. In order to contract the brake band against the action of the springs 26, a brake operating lever 28 is loosely supported on the pin 24 and has a, camming arm 29 integrally formed therewith on one side thereof and engageable with a cam 39 in the form of a closed loop which extends around the pin 24 and which' is integrally formed with or lixed to one side of the lever 22 (see Figs. 10 and 11).

When the knitting machine is operating, the clutch is held engaged and the brake is held released, against the action of their respective springs by virtue of the provision of latching means. The latching means for the clutch operating mechanism (see Figs. 4, 8 and 9) comprises an adjustable latch arm 31 fixed to the vertical shaft 15 and engageable with a keeper lever 3 2 fixed to a vertical shaft 33 supported for rotation in bearings provided therefor on the gear casing and on a bearing bracket 34 fixed to the gear casing. A brake latch lever 35 having the general form of a bell crank is fulcrumed as at 35 on the bracket 17 and has an arm 36 formed with a projection 36 designed to engage a similar projection 28 on the brake operating lever 28. The other arm 38 of the lever 35 is provided with a stop 38a (see Figs. 8 and 9) and a downwardly curved camming portion 385. The brake is held released by engaging the projection 36A with the projection 28 after the lever 28 has been moved to brake releasing position. This adjustment lof the brake is effected after the clutch has been latched in engaged position and consequently the stop 38a on the latch lever 38 engages a brake tripping arm 39 lixed to the .shaft 15. The engagement of the stop 38 with the arm 39 is such as to preclude accidental rocking of the lever 35 under the influence of vibration or other similar causes. The parts are so designed that the arm 39 may be in position to engage the clutch when in light contact with the stop 38a. The camming portion 385 of the lever 35 is disposed adjacent the tripping arm 39 in this position of the parts so that when the clutch operating mechanism is released and the arm 39 swings around with the shaft 15, the brake latch lever 35 is automatically released and the brake is applied.

As described, the latch mechanism for the operating mechanism of the clutch and brake is manually set but it is automatically -tripped by an appropriate stop motion` one type of which will now be described.

Y above.

The frame 1 carries a bracket 40 which supports the bobbins 41 (see Fig. 1). The thread runs from the bobbins 41 through eyelets in levers 42 on an upper stop motion 43 and thence through guiding members 44 of the lower stop motion 45 to the knitting head. The stop motions 43 and 45 per se form no part of the present invention and may be of any known form capable of releasing latching mechanism upon the knotting or breaking of a thread. In the construction shown, the stop motions 43 and 45 are connected through suitable motion transmission mechanism in their connecting casing 46 to latching means designated generally at 47 housed by an integral projecting portion 46 of the casing 46 (see Figs. 2, 12 and 13). The design of the stop motions 43 and 45 is such that the latching means 47 will be released by the upper stop motion 43 if any one of the threads passing through the eyelets in the levers 42 becomes knotted or by the lower stop motion 45 if any thread breaks.

The latching means 47 and the mechanism for operating the same in accordance with movement of the stop motions may be of any well known form, the construction shown being a commercial embodiment of that disclosed in Figures 3 to 7 inclusive of the Crawford Patent 1,354,379, referred to In this construction, a ring 48 is mounted in the casing 46 (see Fig. 2)` and is rotated, a small amount, by mechanism connected to the stop motions 43 or 45 (see FiO. 1) upon the occurrence of a knot or break in a thread. The ring 48 is provided with a pin 48 which engages a trigger 49 on the latching mechanism 47 to trip the same when the ring 48 has been rotated a small amount. The essential elements of the latching mechanism directly controlled by the stop motions are illustrated in Figures 12 and 13 in their released and set positions respectively. The latching mechanisms 47 control a tripping means which functions when set in action by the latching mechanism 47 to disengage the keeper lever 32 from the latch lever 31 and thereby effect release of the clutch 6 and application of the brake.

As more fully disclosed in the Crawford Patents 1,212,912 and 1,354,379, the latching mechanism includes the pivoted trigger 49 (see Figs. 12 and 13) which is biased to operative position and has one end of one of its arms hooked to engage a correspondingly formed end of a slotted arm 50 pivoted as at 50 to a plate 51 secured to the extension 46 0f the casing 46. A pin 52 operates in the slot of arm 50 and is carried by a second slot-V ted arm 53 also pivoted to plate 51 as at 53 and operatively connected to a disk 54 by means of a pin 55 carried by the disk 54 and fitted in the slot of the arm 53. The disk 54 is fixed to the upper end of a trip shaft 56 (see Figs. 2 and 4) rotatably supported in a bearing carried by the plate 51 and biased to tripping position by means ofa spring 57. Then the trip shaft 56 is turned backwardly from its releasing or tripping position to the position in which it is set or cocked, it winds up the spring 57 and this motion of the trippingshaft 56 also causes the hooked end of the trigger 4:9 to engage the hooked end of the arm 50 and thus releasably hold the latch mechanism 47 and the trip shaft 56 in set position.

A gear wheel 58 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 56 (see Figs. 2,3 and 1). A crank arm 59 is adjustably secured to the gear Wheel 58 by means of a screw 59 or any suitable fastening means and at its outer end is provided with a swivel connector 60 having a hole therethrough for receiving and slidably interfitting with one end of a connectingrod61. Collars62and 63 are fixed to the connecting rod 61 for limiting the motion thereof with respect to the connector 60 and a coil spring 64 is interposed between the collar 63 and the connector 60 for urging the connector 60 and collars 62V into engagement while yieldably permitting the rod 61 to slide through the swivel connector.

The other end of the connecting rod 61 is positivly though pivotally connected7 through a similar swivel connector 65 to a lever 66 fixed to the vertical shaft 33 to which the keeper lever 32 is also fixed as previously described (see Figs. 4L and 9).

A reset actuating arm 67 (see Figs. 1 and 9) is secured to the yoke 18 of the clutch and at its upper end carries a swivel connector 68 to which a connecting rod 69 is adjustably secured, the connecting rod connecting at its opposite end with a device which resets the latching mechanism 17 and the trip shaft 56 automatically at the proper time. The resetting device is shown in detail in Figures 3 to 7, inclusive. As shown, it consists of a pinion 70 rotatably mounted on a stub shaft 71 which is fixed to a supporting collar 72 secured to the lower end of the casing extension i6 by set screws 7 3. The pinion meshes with the bevel gear 58 which as previously described is fixed to the trip shaft 56. Secured to the pinion 70 by means of screws 7 -i is a ratchet disk 75 which is provided with a notch 76 on its outer periphery for receiving the pointed end of a pawl 7 7 pivot-ed as at 77 on an arm 78 loosely mounted on the shaft 71 and located immediately adjacent the ratchet disk 75. As the pawl 77 is ldisposed on the side of its arm 78 located flush up against the ratchet disk 7 5, the pawl 77 is located in the plane of the ratchet disk 75. A suitable washer 7 9 and securing screw 8O are also mounted on the end of the shaft 71`to hold the parts in position (see Figure The lower end of the arm 7 8 is provided with a swivel connector 81 forreceiving the end of the connecting .rod 69. A follower 82 is fixed to the pawl 77 by a lock screw 82 and cooperates with a cam 83, formed on a bracket 84.- iXed to the collar 72 by screws 7 2, to raise the pawl 77 out of engagement with the notch 76 in the disk 75 when the cam and follower are in engagement. A spring 85 fixed to the pivot 77 engages a projection on the tail of the follower and biases the pawl 77 to engage the ratchet disk 75 and the follower 82 to coact with its cam 83.

vWhen the machine is running the clutch 6 is, of course, engaged and the brake band 21 is disengaged from the drum 20 and these parts are latched in such positions, the keeper lever 32 engaging the latch arm 31 to hold the clutch engaged and the brake latch lever 35 engaging the brake operating lever 28 to hold the brake released. Further at this time the latching mechanism 47 is in the position shown in Figure 13, that, is, with the hook end of the trigger 49 engaged with the hook end of the arm 50. This holds the trip shaft 56 against rotation and at this time the trip shaft is so positioned that its crank arm 59 has moved away from the collar 62 and placed spring 64: under compression, whereby the keeper lever 32 is firmly held and engaged with the latch arm 31. 1n this position of the parts, the reset is positioned as shown in Figure 6. If the thread knots or breaks, the stop mechanism is set into motion and the pin 418 of the ring 48 disengages the trigger 41-9 from the arm 50. This releases the trip shaft 56 for rotation and the springs 57 and 611 immediately act, the spring 57 unwinding and rotating the trip shaft 56 and spring 641 eX- panding and forcing the arm 59 toward the collar 62. r1`hus the springs 57 and 64- both act to rotate the trip shaft 56 in the initial phase of this operation although the spring 64 ceases to act to rotate the shaft 56 or to move the crank arm 59, after the crank arm has engaged the collar 62. But the combined action of the springs imparts a forcible movement of the connecting rod 61 to the right as viewed in Figure 41 and consequently pulls the keeper lever 32 away from the latch arm .31 thereby releasing the shaft 15 and permitting the springs 12 and 13 to disengage the clutch. rhe rotation of the shaft 15 swings the arm 39 with it so that the arm 39 coacts with the camming end 38?) of the brake latch lever 35 to release it and permit the brake springs to apply the brake. The disengagement of the clutch is accomplished by the sliding of the collar 10 to the left as viewed in Figures 1 and 8 and the clutch yoke 18 partakes of this movement and carries with it the reset actuating arm 67 which in turn pulls the connecting rod 69 to the left as viewed in Figures 4 to 9 inclusive whereby the arm 78 is moved into the position shown in Figure 5. .t practically the same instant, the disk 75 is moved to the position shown in Figure 5 since it is fiXed to the pinion 70 and the pin- Lacasse ion is meshed with the gear wheel 58 fixed to the trip shaft 56 and rotated thereby. Consequently when the arm 78 moved to the position shown in Figure 5 the pawl 77 carried by the arm 78 snaps into the notch 76 as in such position the follower 82 carried by the pawl is free of the Vfixed cam 83. The spring acts through the follower 82 to yieldably hold the pawl 77 engaged with its ratchet disk 75. There is now a complete motion transmission train between the clutch operating mechanism and the trip shaft 56 since the pawl 77 is spring pressed into Vits notch and the frictional engagement is such as to provide an operative connection effective to transmit the relatively light force required. In other words, this mechanical train is such that when the clutch .is thrown into engaged position to start the machine, the trip shaft 56 is turned to such extent that its spring 57 is wound up and the latch mechanism 49 engaged. This will be apparent from consideration of Figures 2 to 9 inclusive. To engage the` clutch the lever 14 is turned in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figures 4 and 9 until its latch arm 3l comes to the position shown in these figures. This, of course, swings the clutch operating yoke 18 to the right as viewed in Figure 9 and causes the reset actuating arm 67 to partake of the corresponding motion. The reset actuating arm 67 pushes the connecting rod 69 to the right as viewed in these figures and this connecting lrod 69 in turn rotates the arm 78 from the position shown in Figure 5 to the position shown in Figure 6. At the beginning of this motion of the arm 78 it is connected to the disk 75 by the pawl 77 so that the disk 75 and pinion 70 are constrained to move with the arm 7 8'. After the disk 75 and pinion 7 0 have been turned through such an angular distance that the pinion 70 acting through the gear wheel 58 has rotated the trip -shaft 56 to the extent necessary to wind up its spring 57 and reengage its latch mechanism 47, the arm 77 is disengaged from the notch 76 of the disk 75 by the action of the follower 82 and cam 83 (see Figure 6) whereby the reset is released from the latching mechanism 47 control by the stop motion so that the effectiveness of the stop motion will not be impaired. As illustrated in Figure 6, the movement imparted by the pawl 77 to the disc 75 is slightly in excess of that required due to clearance and lost motion occurring in the motion transmission train. After the pawl 75 is released the parts readjust themselves under the action of the springs 57 and 64 to the position shown in Figure7.V When the operator moves the lever 14 to throw in the clutch the connecting rod 69 issimultaneously moved and as a result the gear wheel 70 is rotated. Thev gear wheel 70 being meshed with the gear wheel 58 turns the latter andthe rotation of the gear wheel `58 is transmitted through the connecting rod 6l to the latch 32 tol position it to engage the latch member 31.

In other words, whenever the clutch is thrown in, the tripping means and latching mechanism immediately associated with the stop mechanism are automatically reset and as soon as thereset has accomplished this purpose it is automatically disconnected from the parts which it has reset. However, when L the stop motion operates to stop the machine the reset is automatically thrown back into operative engagement or into operative condition so that it will again be positioned to function whenthe operation of the machine is resumed.- y

The invention claimed is:

l. Tna'knitting machine, a drive, a control operable to throw in the drive andV start the machine, means for releasably holding the control in position to maintain the vdrive effective to operate the machine, a stop motion operable upon the occurrence of undesirable conditions in the machine, a tripping element operating, when set in action by the stop motion, to release said means and thereby stop the machine, a ratchet element geared to the tripping element, a pawl cooperable with thev ratchet element, means actuated by the control for operating the pawl for causing it to drive the ratchet element and impart resetting movement to the tripping element when the control is operated to start the machine, and means for automatically disengaging'the pawl from the ratchet element upon completion of the resetting. y

2. In a knitting machine, a drive,a control operable to throw in the drive and start themachine, means for releasably holding the control in position to maintain the drive effective to operate the machine, a stop motion operable upon the occurrence of undesirable conditions in the machine, a tripping elementv operating, when set in action by the stop v'motion, to release said means and thereby stop the machine, a ratchet element geared to the tripping element, a pawl cooperable with the ratchet element, means actuated by the control for operating the pawl for causing it to drive the ratchet element and impart resetting movement to the tripping element when the control is operated to start the machine, and a cam for disengaging the pawl from the ratchet upon the completion of the resetting movement, said pawl and ratchet being automatically reengaged when the stop motion has operated to stop the machine.

3. Tn a knitting machine, a drive, a control operable to throw in the drive and start the machine, means for releasably holding the control in position to maintain the drive effective to operate the machine, a stop motion operable upon the occurrence of undesirable operating, when set in action by the Astop motion', to release said means and thereby stop the machine, a resetting element geared to the tripping elements, and motionV transmission means between the control and the resetting element including a one-way driving connection effective, when the control is actuated to start the machine, to impart operative movement to the resetting element, but automatically freeing the resetting element after resetting.

4. In a stop motion for knitting machines or the like, the combination of latching mechanism and a setting device therefor, said latching mechanism including a rotary element, means for latchin g said element when it has been rotated apredetermined amount in a given direction, and means for releasing said latching means upon the occurrence of undesirable conditions in the knitting machine, said setting device including an element associated with the rotary element of said latching mechanism and constrained to rotation therewith, ratchet means for rotating said element in one direction and means for releasing said ratchet means when the element has been rotated sufficiently to permit such latching means to engage the rotary element of said latching mechanism.

5. In astop motion for knitting machines or the like, thecombination of a latching mechanism and a setting device therefor said latching mechanism including a movable element, means for latching said element when it has been moved a predetermined amount in a given direction, and means for releasing said latching means upon the occurrence of undesirable conditions in the knitting machine, said setting device including an element associated with said latching mechanism and constrained to movement therewith, means for moving said element in one direction and means for releasing said moving means when the element has been moved suiiiciently to permit said latching means to latch .the movable element of said latching mechanism.

6. In a knitting machine, in combination, a drive, a control adapted to be set to render the drive effective, means for releasing the control to disconnect the drive and stop the machine upon the occurrence of undesirable conditions in the machine and including a stop motion and latching and tripping mechmism Controlled thereby, and aresetting device for the latching and tripping mechanism, comprising a gear connected to the latching and tripping mechanism, an actuating element receiving its motion from the control, and motion transmission means between the actuating element and the gear. y

7. In a knitting machine,in combination, a drive, a control adapted to be set to render the drive effective, means for releasing the control to disconnect the drive and stop the machine upon the occurrence of undesirable conditions in the machine and including a stop motion and latching and tripping mechanism controlled thereby, and a resetting device for the latching and tripping mechanism, comprising a gear connected to the latching and tripping mechanism, an actuating element receiving its motion from the control, and motion transmission means between the actuating element and the gear, and including a pawl carrier positively moved from the actuating elements, a pawl carried thereby, a ratchet element fixed to the gear and with which the pawl coacts, and means for automatically disengaging the pawl and ratchet element when at the end of a resetting movement.

8. A resetting device for a stop motion of a knitting machine having the usual drive control and the usual tripping shaft and comprising a resetting element adapted to be geared to the trip shaft, an actuating element adapted to be connected to the control and motion transmission. means between the actuating and the resetting element and including a one-'way driving connection.

9. A resetting device for a stop motion of a knitting machine having the usual drive control and the usual tripping shaft and comprising a gear wheel fixed to the tripping shaft, a pinion meshed therewith, a ratchet element fixed to the pinion, Va pawl carrier mounted for rotation relative to the pinion, a pawl mounted on said carrier and cooperable with the ratchet element, a connecting rod between the drive control and the pawl carrier, and means for automatically disengaging the pawl from the ratchet element upon the completion of the resetting.

l0. A resetting device for a stop motion of a knitting machine having the usual drive ,1

control and the usual tripping shaft and comprising a gear wheel adapted to be fixed to the tripping shaft, a pinion meshed with said gear wheel and means adapted to be actuated by the drive control whenr the same is manipulated to start the machine and acting to rotate the pinion to effect resetting.

l1. In a knitting machine, a drive, a control operable to throw in the drive and start the machine, means for releasably holding the control in position to maintain the drive edective to operate the machine, a stop motion operable upon the occurrence of undesirable conditions in the machine, a tripping element operating, when set 1n action by the stop motion, to release said means and thereby stop the machine, resetting means actuated by the control, a releasable connection between the resetting means and the tripping element and stop motion and automatically completing a motion transmission train between the resetting means and the tripping element and stop motion under the influence of the Vcontrol and the stop motion when the control is positioned to stop the machine by rlp:

virtue of the action of the stop motion, and means for releasing said releasable conneotion and disconnecting the stop motion and tripping element from the resetting means after the control has been thrown to position to start the machine and the stop motion and tripping element have been reset by the resetting means.

In Witness whereof, I have hereto affixed my signature.

ARTHUR E. BYRD. 

